Martha Whitman

First name:

Martha

Last name:

Whitman

Site and Notification Signature:

Board President - La Montanita Co-op

Main Phone:

505 265-8356

Mobile Phone:

505 804-0947

Worked in Coop Sector Since:

1980

I’m currently the board president of La Montanita, a position I’ve held for nine years, one I find invigorating and interesting. For the past six years I’ve been a member of NCGA Western Corridor’s BEST (Board Effectiveness Support Team) which is a peer support and advisory group for our NCGA Western Corridor boards. Within that program I have co-led seven trainings designed to enhance board effectiveness; additionally I write articles and research resources for the BEST’s quarterly periodical, The LEADer. In 2008 I became the proud recipient of the Bowers Fund Cooperative Board Service Award.

I entered the co-op world as a bookkeeper fresh out of community college. My brother and his wife (aka hippies) belonged to one of Albuquerque's co-ops (no longer around) and encouraged me to fill a job vacancy. Sure glad I followed their advise! I ultimately ended up as the manager of La Montanita. After moving the store to our Nob Hill location and ran away to San Francisco and found the world of credit unions. I enjoyed my fancy position, VP of Finance, but tired of the structure. There's a lot of crossing of t's and dotting of i's. I returned to Albuquerque in 1995 and joined La Montanita's board in 2003.